Well," quips Nella briskly, cleaning the slime from her hands, feet, and weapons with some effort, "That was... annoying. "
Once she has done the best she can, she again approaches the pile of bones to see what she can discern.
Marullus wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 3:19 pm
Satisfied with her rendering of the runes and leaving the more esoteric Xanlanan and Lika to contemplate them, Nella moves to the large pile of bones to continue her observation by shining her light upon it...
She then approaches and shines the light on the pile of bones area. First to see anything obvious about them - placed or haphazard? Chewed or preserved? Anything besides bones peaking from the pile? Patterns in the bones, or walkway through the bones? She then carefully studies the walls of the chamber for secrets.
As she brings up the rear, she will pause to examine the small alcove opposite the door that Unari and Guthruuk now examine. It is likely to have secret accesses. Are there evidence of foot traffic into that small dead-end?
Xanlanan tends to his wounds as best he can. He also tends to the rips and tears in his robes that are particularly annoying and distracting. He 'hmms' and 'hmmms' as he goes about his business but he looks quite pale and clearly out of sorts for the moment.
Lika chirps her appreciation at the returning pair. "Thanks for the muscle. Those things were unexpected." He pokes through the remains, assessing the nutritional value of the slugs.
Bone Room "Well," quips Nella briskly, cleaning the slime from her hands, feet, and weapons with some effort, "That was... annoying." The rough sentiment is shared by Lika, who begins to eagerly poke through the remains, assessing the nutritional value of the slugs.
While everyone works to rid themselves and their possessions of goo remnants, Nellafinally has her opportunity to inspect the large collection of bones in the far alcove, or open ossuary?
After the slugs erupted from the pile, many of the bones are now scattered throughout the immediate area.
Climbing over the slain slug, the baroness discovers bones of all kinds:
Craniums.
Jawbones.
Spines
Ribcages
Pelvis'
Scapulas
Clavicles
Femurs
Tibias
Fibulas
Humerus'
Radius'
Ulnas
Hands
Feet
Mostly human. Likely scavenged bones of failed adventurers.
Some non-human.
All in various states and conditions.
Some fully intact.
Some fractured or shattered.
Others crushed.
Some are still coated with dark splotches of blood, or have ligaments and tendons still attached.
Others have been completely picked clean.
A few coins, random trinkets, and other oddities mixed in or settled to the ground; but seemingly nothing of any significance or value.
A thorough search of the alcoved area fails to produce any secret or hidden entrances or areas.
Sleeping in light armor has no adverse effect on the wearer, but sleeping in medium or heavy armor makes it difficult to recover fully during a long rest.
When you finish a long rest during which you slept in medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn’t reduce your exhaustion level.
Rummaging through the ossuary pile, Nella turns to the others as her coin winks out. "This appears to be where adventurers go when they die." She holds up an arm bone, "that's Humerus."
She tosses the bone back into the stack and goes over to Lika, asking her to please re-enchant the coin she was using as a light source.
"Let us take a close look at that alcove, as this room is still strangely shaped, then we can follow our guides onward."
Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Just checking: did the "no secret doors found" apply to the alcove, too? If not, we check it.
As she brings up the rear, she will pause to examine the small alcove opposite the door that Unari and Guthruuk now examine. It is likely to have secret accesses. Are there evidence of foot traffic into that small dead-end?
The bugbear cocks his head at Nella's words. He dead. Why that funny? he asks, clearly not getting the joke. As he goes back to the door he and Unari were near before the excitement, he instructs the others, Come follow when done poking around. Try not find more monsters.
On November 2nd I will be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.
Headless Statue Nella continues to be perplexed by the irregularly shaped room, and the absence of anything in the negative space that, she believes, could lead to a secret area of some kind -- but, no.
While the alcove is furiously being inspected by the baroness, Lika immediately begins to inspect the slugs for any edible remains -- treats for himself -- and manages to identify four days worth of nourishment.
After Xanlanan restores the illumination on Nella's coin, Unari and Gruuthuk are pleased to learn that the group is ready to proceed.
The pair of scouts lead the group south, through the previously inspected door, and ultimately down a long, narrow hallway ending in another, familiar door.
After no hint of activity is detected on the opposite side, the scout quietly cracks open the door and peeks inside.
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Straight ahead, the halfling spies a large set of double doors. To her left, the northern end of the room appears to be partially collapsed.
The upper half of a headless stone statue of a nude woman emerges from the debris, but additional details are impossible to ascertain from the current distance and will require a closer inspection.
Sleeping in light armor has no adverse effect on the wearer, but sleeping in medium or heavy armor makes it difficult to recover fully during a long rest.
When you finish a long rest during which you slept in medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn’t reduce your exhaustion level.
Whispering, "Looks clear from here but the collapse could easily hide someone or thing."
She moves in a does a slow walk around the edge of the room, going counter clockwise to do a general search to make sure nothing is waiting in ambush, she includes the ceiling in her search.
The bugbear nods and takes a more direct route to the collapsed tunnel, keeping an eye open for anything that may be trying to hide behind the statue or in the tunnel, bow at the ready.
On November 2nd I will be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.
Seeing no obvious threat in the new chamber, Baroness Nella advances to study the new statue, adding it to her book of quick notes and sketches of the new statue to her book.
Headless Statue Lika stops to study the double doors on the right-hand wall. While in a pair, the doors appear similar to previously encountered doors, and are made of thick, sturdy wood fitted with iron hinges and handles. And no lock.
Attracting the most curiosity of the group is a headless stone statue of a nude woman, half-buried in stone debris.
The fine lines and lifelike rendering present in the stone statue itself, while now showing significant wear -- beyond just the missing head -- appears as if it was originally made by an accomplished craftsman.
The statue is completely surrounded by rubble, with chunks of stone and rock form at least a 5-foot ring around the statue.
Now in closer proximity to the area, Unari notices a roughly carved 5-foot wide by 5-foot tall tunnel that appears to wind away from the current room.
Headless Statue.jpg (53.39 KiB) Viewed 332 times
Without a closer, more direct inspection, no further details are possible.
Sleeping in light armor has no adverse effect on the wearer, but sleeping in medium or heavy armor makes it difficult to recover fully during a long rest.
When you finish a long rest during which you slept in medium or heavy armor, you regain only one quarter of your spent Hit Dice (minimum of one die). If you have any levels of exhaustion, the rest doesn’t reduce your exhaustion level.
